Collina: Ghost goal a mistake

UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina admits Ukraine were wrongly denied a goal in their 1-0 loss to England.

England defender John Terry attempted to clear the ball from the under the bar following a shot from Marko Devic, but TV replays showed the effort had crossed the goal-line.

Collina blamed human error for the wrong call, but insisted the other two similar situations – in the group matches between Germany and Portugal and between Italy and Croatia – were handled correctly.

“The ball crossed the line,” the Italian said. “That was unfortunate. It would have been better not to have it.

“This was the third situation of this kind in the tournament. Unfortunately, this one was wrong.”

The incident has reignited the debate about whether the introduction of five officials helps to prevent bad calls from being made.

“This is the only problem we have had,” Collina said.

“It is one negative decision in three years of Champions League and two years of Europa League and 24 matches at the Euros.

“I would be very happy to know if the same questions would have been asked without yesterday’s decision.”

After the match, FIFA president Sepp Blatter wrote on Twitter that the introduction of goal-line technology ‘is no longer an alternative but a necessity’.